Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) Shares Sold by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

10 Jan 2025, 17:52 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL – Free Report) by 25.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,145 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Ecolab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ecolab in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Ecolab by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecolab during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Ecolab by 2,188.9% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, major shareholder William H. Gates III sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.06, for a total value of $24,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,718,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,372,030,892.46. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 834,566 shares of company stock worth $205,225,417. 0.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ecolab Price Performance

Ecolab stock traded down $3.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $230.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 398,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 932,740. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.30. Ecolab Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $195.49 and a fifty-two week high of $262.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.68.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.03 billion. Ecolab had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 13.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ecolab Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is an increase from Ecolab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 25th. UBS Group cut Ecolab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $276.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Ecolab from $305.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $235.00 to $310.00 in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ecolab from $271.00 to $279.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.47.

View Our Latest Research Report on Ecolab

About Ecolab

(Free Report)

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.